Cucumber sandwiches - what's right, what's wrong?!

Planning a nice afternoon tea for 'The Wedding', as we are having a small gathering to bitchabouttheoutfits watch the proceedings, and of course I will be making cucumber sandwiches. So apart from cucumbers, what else do I need?

White bread or brown? (I'm thinking white)And I cut the crusts off yes?

Do I do triangles or fingers?

Butter or margerine?

Peel the cucumbers or not?

Salt?

My Godmother used to make heavenly cucumber sandwiches, I used to love them! Just can't remember much about the technicalities/etiquette!

Also, anything else that should be included in the tea? Pimms anyone?!

I think it's supposed to be ham and mustard but I don't like mustard, chicken and mayo but I sometimes have pesto instead and Smoked salmon with dill, cracked pepper and lemon but sometimes I have cream cheese instead of butter.

A proper metal cake stand is a nice touch. Finger sandwiches (smoked salmon, chicken, cucumber, egg mayonnaise and cress, roast ham and cheddar cheese) on the bottom, scones in the middle (to be served with jam and clotted cream) and cakes and pastries on the top.

A nice glass of fizzy is always a nice accompaniment as well.

I know this is probably "wrong" but I like grated cheese and cucumber together

Pimms. Loadsa and loadsa and loadsa Pimms. Well, booze of any kind, esp if you want to ==bitch about the outfits== watch the proceedings, but Pimms seems to match cucumber sarnies better than, say tequila shots.

Oh, hey, how about airline food? An homage to Kate's mum...

MarinaWho finally realises her invite is not, after all, lost in the post

Boosmummie - I'm glad you had a good holiday in England. I'm not amongst the thousands flocking to Spain - frankly, as I live in Scotland, I can stay here and get rained on for free! BTW - is it true that the rain in spain stays mainly on the plain?

I took a bagful of knitting wool to the charity shop today, and did have a sneaky browse past the teasets there, but nothing leapt out and demanded to be bought - but I will be looking more, over coming weeks. I have just bought myself a mini Aynsley Indian Tree teaset - but I didn't read the ebay listing properly, and the teacups are actually only 2" tall - so more like espresso cups - but still sooo pretty!

Bebe Where's your BIL? We actually have some lovely sunshine now thank goodness, but there are black clouds in the mountains behind . Been to Gibraltar earlier and it was very rainy over the top, but never mind. I was so lucky to have such lovely sunshine for our two weeks in England and tbh I don't really mind a bit of rain as from the end of the month here it will be glorious for at least 6 months! But as i said for the past three Aprils it has been absolutely foul here and I really do feel for the tourists that come over as there's not much to do for them when it's raining!

Hope your party goes well and hope you have a lovely Birthday tea party too (even if you do have to do it yourself!)

Bogeyface - I am planning my own Birthday tea party...DH wouldn't think of doing it & DD isn't old enough! Maybe I could subtley drop hints too?! On second thoughts I doubt it'd work! Have already be buying teacups & saucers in charity shops...for a different 'project'! Must step up efforts before next Friday!

Boosmummie - BIL lives in Spain, he is very cross that we are enjoying the sun this Easter having only just gone back to Spain last week!

I think I shall have to do the finger sandwiches now then...it being all Royal and posh and that!!

StayingDTG that's good to hear. OK thanks, just had two week visit to UK which was packed, but fun. NOw back home enjoying rain rain and rain having left all the nice weather behind! I do feel a little sorry for the apperent 400000 people who are heading to Spain for Easter!

Email it to them both, every hour on the hour followed up with text messages and every meal spell it out in their food. Bleach it into their clothes (backwards so it shows in the mirror) and make a CD of subliminal messages about it to play when they are asleep!

Then, when they dont get it, you have every right to have a hissy fit of monumental proportions!

Bogeyface - do you think that if I printed out multiple copies of your post and stuck them all over the dses bedrooms and put a feww hundred into dh's briefcase, they might take the hint and do a teaparty like that for my birthday - or would that be too subtle a hint?

Well - next time you fancy high tea, you know what to do with the chicken! I'm sure you will come up with an excuse!!

I am passionate about cooking and when my older children were younger (tiny) I cooked for bored housewives in London for their dinner parties (so they could no doubt claim it as their own) and drinks parties etc. Loved it and will probably do something like that again when we move back. Also want to teach children to cook as well. Love it love it love it.

It was lovely, we just had mum there and invited her girly mates. We had some bottles of champagne too and she loved it, it really made her day. i would highly recommend it as a party to anyone, and actually it isnt that much effort to put together either.

Ahhhhh Bogeyface that's so lovely, lucky mummy! I might just consider that for my mum's next BIrthday. She will probably cry though!

Incidentally, for cheaty thinly sliced chicken, I use breast, slice it thinly while raw and then poach v. briefly in a light chicken stock and it's moist, flavoursome and terribly good in tiny sandwiches! Also do the same with thighs.

I know this because DSis and I threw a tea party for my mums 60th and I emailed my friend for advice. On his say so we did cuke sandwiches, smoked salmon, fresh chicken (which is a total bitch to slice thinly btw!) and egg (because we all love egg sarnies, not sure they are legit in "Posh tea" circles!) and they were gorgeous. They seemed to taste nicer eaten in fingers, and they were really easy to eat too. They seemed far more delicate but at the same time easier to eat than triangles, so much so that I even cut the kids lunch box sarnies into 3 fingers now, but crusts on

We had a stand of cupcakes, made by me, coffee ones with chocolate covered cocoa beans on top, vanilla ones with marbled pink and white icing and pink and white sugar flowers and lemon ones. What else.....oh yes, my sister made a tomatoey pestoey cheesy flan thing by rolling out puff pastry and putting the above onto it and ovening it til the pastry was cooked, and cut into the same size fingers as the sandwiches. Scones and cream and carrot cake. We had scoured charity shops for tea cups and saucers and tea plates in the preceding weeks so we had proper china to use (we re-donated them afterwards) and DSis found some lovely Cath Kidston-esque paper napkins.

It was a triumph, mum was thrilled and I have to say that Dsis and I were more than a little proud of ourselves